THE SENATE’S PLAN TO ESTABLISH THE NATIONAL FOOD RESERVE AGENCY FOR FOOD SECURITY – ANOTHER ADDITION TO THE MANY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES DRAINING THE NATION’S TREASURY WITHOUT CONTRIBUTING ANYTHING
April 21, 2021 | News
When it was reported some days ago that the Nigerian Senate, recently passed a bill seeking to establish the National Food Reserve Agency for food security, despite disagreement over its powers by Senators, I cannot help but wonder why do we keep creating more problems for ourselves to further complicate the existing problems that are already making life difficult....
THE SENATE’S PLAN TO ESTABLISH THE NATIONAL FOOD RESERVE AGENCY FOR FOOD SECURITY – ANOTHER ADDITION TO THE MANY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES DRAINING THE NATION’S TREASURY WITHOUT CONTRIBUTING ANYTHING
When it was reported some days ago that the Nigerian Senate, recently passed a bill seeking to establish the National Food Reserve Agency for food security, despite disagreement over its powers by Senators, I cannot help but wonder why do we keep creating more problems for ourselves to further complicate the existing problems that are already making life difficult for many? Are the lawmakers not aware that there are already too many government commissions, departments, and agencies in Nigeria, with no meaningful contributions to the national economy at all levels and in the living standards of Nigerians? Why do we keep doing the same thing, making the same mistakes, and hope that things will change and get better? Must we set up a committee, establish an agency or commission, before we can address any problem in Nigerian society?
It was even reported that, before the bill was passed, senators engaged in a heated debate over the powers of the National Assembly to legislate on the establishment of the said agency. However, the bill saw the light of the day when the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, ruled in favour of the proponents. The bill was passed after the red chamber considered the report of its Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development chaired by Abdullahi Adamu. And in his presentation, Adamu said when established, the agency would implement the overall national food reserve policy to ensure a reliable supply of designated commodities in the country. He said with the existence of the agency, emergency food crises would be taken care of, especially during pandemics. Now, the question is, must we have another agency to add to the many agencies we already have within the Government, before we can address the nation’s food security? What has been the significance of these agencies to the nation? Is that how other developed nations were able to overcome the problem of food supply for their people?
Practically every year, if it is not one Agency this, it will be one commission that; with nothing tangible to show forth by these government tentacles that are with all kinds of useless titles of this and that. It is generally known that the Nigerian democratic system is perhaps one of the most (if not the most) expensive democracy in the world. Besides the perennial systemic corruption, there is “duplication of supposed statutory functions” across several Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS), Other Agencies of Government; this actually is one of the reasons why the Recurrent Expenditures of yearly budget dwarfs Capital Expenditures. As the problem is evident at the Federal level of Government, so it is at the State levels as well.
If it were possible for us a people and a nation to sit down and calculate every naira and kobo that have been ‘recklessly’ spent by the Nigerian government at the various levels in their governance activities and supposed recurrent expenditure from 1960 to date, the results that will be revealed will not only be shocking but it will also not commensurate with the deplorable status of the country which they are expected to effectively govern in the first place. In other words, rather than the high cost of governance, which is daily becoming a national concern, to reflect as improved living conditions of the Nigerian populace, it is only reflected on those ‘privileged’ to be in and around the circles of government, thereby leaving the majority of the population in perpetual want and need. And the situation is far worse at the State levels of government.
Some stakeholders have over the years, advised the Government to merge some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as a way of cutting costs. It is not disheartening to note that, despite the economic crunch confronting the country, the Federal and State Governments across the nation are still administering multiple MDAs, most of which are performing the same functions. For instance, here is the Senate planning to establish another agency of food security, when on the other hand the Federal Government has the Ministry of Agriculture in all the States of the federation, whose responsibility it is to ensure adequate food production and preservation across the country.
It is the responsibility of the Government to regulate, not just food production, but also the growing concerns pertaining to the increase in prices of food items and essential commodities, which are becoming unbearable for the common man on a daily basis. It is also the responsibility of the Government to create soft landing for large scale farming with soft loans for farming and factories. Sadly, Nigerian Banks only give loans to politicians and big businessmen/women connected to Aso Rock. In fact, we say that the Nigerian banking sector is anti-farming and anti-production of goods and services. And the Government is not doing anything to address this anomaly. They also make things worse by not patronizing homegrown products, but rather they prefer the imported ones. For instance, what stops the Federal Government and various State Governments, and all government departments from heavily patronizing Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) company? Every country is patronizing their homemade goods and services. But here in Nigeria, especially those within Government space prefer to patronize foreign goods. How can the Nigerian economy grow in such a situation?
The truth is that a lot of these Government Agencies and Ministries in the country today are functioning on the platform of ‘duplication of functions/duties.’ Some of them are nothing but unnecessary sprouts that should be uprooted or merged to function under one or two bodies or even completely scrapped. Perhaps, it is expedient for the Federal and State Governments and the entire nation to take a critical look at developed societies and see how they operate and possibly emulate the laudable practices that would suit our kind of democracy. The size of the Nigerian government at all levels drastically needs to be reduced if we are serious in tackling the challenges that are adversely impacting the economy. We cannot develop our States or the entire nation with the way we are going. No State or country has achieved considerable development when such ‘public funds wastage’ is encouraged.
Amid the huge budgets yearly set aside to address recurrent expenditure, what the average citizen sees is only the worsening of his environment, the continuing decay of existing structures, and rising poverty level. The bottom line is that Nigeria’s public expenditure, vis-a-vis the country’s state of underdevelopment, is neither justifiable nor favourably comparable to similar expenditure in other countries. The above analysis explains why every dick and harry are clamoring to do whatever that is necessary to find their way into the circles of Federal and State Governments – where one’s economic status can change overnight by doing practically little to nothing in the name of government work.
As far as I am concerned, the so-called bill is useless if passed because it is not relevant. The Nigerian Government should know what to do if they really want to address the issue of food security in the nation. We do not need another new agency for that to happen.
Zik Gbemre.
April 21, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
When it was reported some days ago that the Nigerian Senate, recently passed a bill seeking to establish the National Food Reserve Agency for food security, despite disagreement over its powers by Senators, I cannot help but wonder why do we keep creating more problems for ourselves to further complicate the existing problems that are already making life difficult for many? Are the lawmakers not aware that there are already too many government commissions, departments, and agencies in Nigeria, with no meaningful contributions to the national economy at all levels and in the living standards of Nigerians? Why do we keep doing the same thing, making the same mistakes, and hope that things will change and get better? Must we set up a committee, establish an agency or commission, before we can address any problem in Nigerian society?
It was even reported that, before the bill was passed, senators engaged in a heated debate over the powers of the National Assembly to legislate on the establishment of the said agency. However, the bill saw the light of the day when the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, ruled in favour of the proponents. The bill was passed after the red chamber considered the report of its Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development chaired by Abdullahi Adamu. And in his presentation, Adamu said when established, the agency would implement the overall national food reserve policy to ensure a reliable supply of designated commodities in the country. He said with the existence of the agency, emergency food crises would be taken care of, especially during pandemics. Now, the question is, must we have another agency to add to the many agencies we already have within the Government, before we can address the nation’s food security? What has been the significance of these agencies to the nation? Is that how other developed nations were able to overcome the problem of food supply for their people?
Practically every year, if it is not one Agency this, it will be one commission that; with nothing tangible to show forth by these government tentacles that are with all kinds of useless titles of this and that. It is generally known that the Nigerian democratic system is perhaps one of the most (if not the most) expensive democracy in the world. Besides the perennial systemic corruption, there is “duplication of supposed statutory functions” across several Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS), Other Agencies of Government; this actually is one of the reasons why the Recurrent Expenditures of yearly budget dwarfs Capital Expenditures. As the problem is evident at the Federal level of Government, so it is at the State levels as well.
If it were possible for us a people and a nation to sit down and calculate every naira and kobo that have been ‘recklessly’ spent by the Nigerian government at the various levels in their governance activities and supposed recurrent expenditure from 1960 to date, the results that will be revealed will not only be shocking but it will also not commensurate with the deplorable status of the country which they are expected to effectively govern in the first place. In other words, rather than the high cost of governance, which is daily becoming a national concern, to reflect as improved living conditions of the Nigerian populace, it is only reflected on those ‘privileged’ to be in and around the circles of government, thereby leaving the majority of the population in perpetual want and need. And the situation is far worse at the State levels of government.
Some stakeholders have over the years, advised the Government to merge some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as a way of cutting costs. It is not disheartening to note that, despite the economic crunch confronting the country, the Federal and State Governments across the nation are still administering multiple MDAs, most of which are performing the same functions. For instance, here is the Senate planning to establish another agency of food security, when on the other hand the Federal Government has the Ministry of Agriculture in all the States of the federation, whose responsibility it is to ensure adequate food production and preservation across the country.
It is the responsibility of the Government to regulate, not just food production, but also the growing concerns pertaining to the increase in prices of food items and essential commodities, which are becoming unbearable for the common man on a daily basis. It is also the responsibility of the Government to create soft landing for large scale farming with soft loans for farming and factories. Sadly, Nigerian Banks only give loans to politicians and big businessmen/women connected to Aso Rock. In fact, we say that the Nigerian banking sector is anti-farming and anti-production of goods and services. And the Government is not doing anything to address this anomaly. They also make things worse by not patronizing homegrown products, but rather they prefer the imported ones. For instance, what stops the Federal Government and various State Governments, and all government departments from heavily patronizing Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) company? Every country is patronizing their homemade goods and services. But here in Nigeria, especially those within Government space prefer to patronize foreign goods. How can the Nigerian economy grow in such a situation?
The truth is that a lot of these Government Agencies and Ministries in the country today are functioning on the platform of ‘duplication of functions/duties.’ Some of them are nothing but unnecessary sprouts that should be uprooted or merged to function under one or two bodies or even completely scrapped. Perhaps, it is expedient for the Federal and State Governments and the entire nation to take a critical look at developed societies and see how they operate and possibly emulate the laudable practices that would suit our kind of democracy. The size of the Nigerian government at all levels drastically needs to be reduced if we are serious in tackling the challenges that are adversely impacting the economy. We cannot develop our States or the entire nation with the way we are going. No State or country has achieved considerable development when such ‘public funds wastage’ is encouraged.
Amid the huge budgets yearly set aside to address recurrent expenditure, what the average citizen sees is only the worsening of his environment, the continuing decay of existing structures, and rising poverty level. The bottom line is that Nigeria’s public expenditure, vis-a-vis the country’s state of underdevelopment, is neither justifiable nor favourably comparable to similar expenditure in other countries. The above analysis explains why every dick and harry are clamoring to do whatever that is necessary to find their way into the circles of Federal and State Governments – where one’s economic status can change overnight by doing practically little to nothing in the name of government work.
As far as I am concerned, the so-called bill is useless if passed because it is not relevant. The Nigerian Government should know what to do if they really want to address the issue of food security in the nation. We do not need another new agency for that to happen.
Zik Gbemre.
April 21, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes